The greatest game console of all time?

Will Greenwald writes on CNET Crave:

"A few days ago, blogger Don Reisinger made the bold declaration that the Super Nintendo was the greatest video game system of all time. The SNES was indeed a great console with lots of great games, but it's still a leap to call it the greatest system ever made. In an industry that's over 30 years old, that's seen dozens upon dozens of home video game systems, simply calling out Nintendo's second console as the best ever seems simplistic.

...

Several other consoles could also be called the greatest gaming system. They all offer a great advancement from the previous generation, they all feature massive libraries of great games, and they all have a shot at beating the Super Nintendo for the superlative title."

Greenwald names three other game consoles that could be considered as the greatest... depending on what you mean by "greatest".

[mintaro]

greatest console ever= PS2

[INehalemEXI]

I would go with a BC PS3 over a PS2 any day.

[TheSadTruth]

I guess I'll go with a PC since it can emulate every console ever made up to the PS2? I win.

[darkshiz]

Playstation ftw.
PS1 and PS2 broke the 100 million barrier unlike other systems.

[INehalemEXI]

@TheSadTruth you sooooo.. do not win since a PC does not qualify as a console. :D

[rofldings]

P-L-A-Y-S-T-A-T-I-O-N

[nevelo07]

had to pick one i would go with playstation2 it brought gaming out of the gaming world and into the main mainstream, it offered everything you could ever want as far as games plus its the home console of god of war the greatest single player adventure of all time

[kewlkat007]

there is no "greatest console of all time".

I've live through most and at the time you are enjoying a certain console, "it happens to be the best at the moment" and everything that comes after, builds on that.

So you can never have one console without giving props to it's predecessors and others before it, so they are always connected.

My best Console had to be "Super Nintendo". It was doing 3-d games and had soem of the best gaming catalogs ever. PSone comes close but many Genres started to die, so that's a big minus.

[barom]

I'd say the PS2 has given me the most hours of entertainment. And I would call PS1 the most revolutionary in that it was one of the first consoles to introduce 3d games as in graphics (with polygons) and not 2d (I could be wrong though), it also introduced disc media to the gaming world.

Looking back now I'm very surprised the PS1 did so well back then. I mean it was expensive, disc media was probably looked down upon (remember how careful you had to be?). It had little to no popular franchises.

[jackdoe]

Second in the gamerzone! Sweet. Civilized discussion. Anyway, best console ever would probably have to go with the PS2. One of the best libraries ever.

[CeruleanSky]

130 million PS2s shipped worldwide - most likely around 128-129 million sold.

March 2000 to present day is closing in on an eight year life so far with units still flying off the shelves.

After more than seven years the system is so popular that it hasn't even had to drop down to 99 dollars yet.

With the eventual 99 dollar price point it will almost certainly hit 150 million units worldwide by the time the console goes out of production.

The single largest and most diverse library of games ever created for a console.

Wildly popular across all three major console regions - Japan, NA, Europe.

You could pick up a PS2 for 130 bucks today and still be playing amazing 20 dollar greatest hits titles into the next console generation.

[DJ]

But now that's changed over to PS3. Preference just changes with the times.

[caffman]

and neither is this
Bubbles to you DJ for being honest!

[INehalemEXI]

Bubbles @ DJ

[AceLuby]

I got a PS2 when it first came out and got lots of enjoyment out of it( ~5 yrs). I then picked up an Xbox and once I did never played the PS2 again until FFXII came out. I wasted so much time on the two Halos and the Two KoTOR and bought soooooo many used games for $5 that I never had time or a reason to go back to my PS2... hmmm... go figure.

[DJ]

With you know, some Burnout Revenge and FFXII in between. I still think the Controller S is better than the 360 wireless, though that's probably just me. Probably the reason I love Call of Duty 4's online so much is because it's so similar to Halo 2's matchmaking system.

As much as I love Warhawk and Motorstorm online, having to sift through individual servers is occasionally annoying. On the flipside, when auto-matchmaking screws up the results are Baaaad, which also happened to COD4. Every online game should have the option of both manual and auto.

[cmrbe]

as it was the console that got me into gaming. I am not sure but i think Atari brought gaming to the masses.

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

The greatest system ever...(anyone else don't like this new n4g set up)

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

The greatest system ever...(anyone else don't like this new n4g set up)

[rofldings]

I don't like the comments being separated :/

[wAtdaFck]

Sometimes I still see a little fanboyism going on :(

[INehalemEXI]

I like it , I hope we get animated gif avatar support next.

[Nevers]

..but it doesn't take you directly to your comment anymore... you have to scroll through the pages now... not fun.

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

Second....then probably dreamcast...ps1..then xbox...gamecube

[Iron Man 2]

PS3 w/BC to play PS2 games as well as PS3 games

Anyways,the PS2 was the best console ever made and the PS3 will follow it's footsteps and claim first place this gen vs the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360;)

[INehalemEXI]

Totaly.

[kevoncox]

Period.
No other system had it all.

Nintendo's franchises
Capcom's fighters + action games
Squares RPG's
EA's Sports games
SNk's fighters

Name me the best Psx game and I can name you a 3 snes games that beat it down...

FF7? Secret of Mana, Crono trigger, FF6

Tekken?= MK2, SSF2, World Heros, Fatal Fury

The only people that say PSX are the ones that weren't around back then. PS2? lol....We sold 100 units.. who cares

[Bill Gates]

Fact: *a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred; "first you must collect all the facts of the case"
* a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened; "he supported his argument with an impressive array of facts"
* an event known to have happened or something known to have existed; "your fears have no basis in fact"; "how much of the story is fact and how much fiction is hard to tell"
* a concept whose truth can be proved; "scientific hypotheses are not facts"

What you stated was your opinion.

Opinion: a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty.

I'm just saying.

[kewlkat007]

Ya know at least say why, instead of 120 million....lol

SNES is one of my best and in my Top 3. Great Games you mentioned as with my first Post..kevoncox

[Megaton]

I'm split between the Super Nintendo and Playstation 2. Both were/are phenomenal gaming consoles.

[Bill Gates]

Well it sure as heck isn't the beloved BABOON BOX360 that's for sure.....AHAHHAHA

[cartman313]

Mine was the Sega Genesis... Couldn't stop playing the Phantasy Star series, and Shining Force(I beat it at least 20 times). Also loved Mutant League football.

Theme Park was also a blast, I loved simulation games. Road Rash 2 was extremely addicting. I miss the days of begging my mom to rent me a Sega game.

[heyheyhey]

needless to say- it's a B/C capable PS3

ace PS1 games, ace PS2 games and ace PS3 games

[heyheyhey]

well PS2 was the most succesful, and had an excellent library

but come on guys- it has to be the oddyssey, it's what started this whole thing off

[bootsielon]

Most sales, most games, best games, BC with PSOne. Questions? I'd put the PS3 with BC, but perhaps that's "cheating". But then again, would PS3 become the best console ever if, aside from getting some exclusive must have games, it does become fully BC with 100% of PS2 and PS1 games, and enhances them with trophies for Home?

[Engineer]

I've got to admit i was too young to really appreciate when the SNES had it's shining moment. I came along and instantly adopted the SEGA GENESIS.. but only after my first gaming experience with a Playstation did I realize what gaming actually was. FF7 was an amazing game, one that actually sucked me into its world.

Going beyond that the PS2 would have to be my favorite console. It was the first one bought by myself for myself (others were christmas gifts etc) and despite the high entry cost I would never say I hadn't gotten my moneys worth. The evolution of that system over the years has to count for something. Playing games like Dark Cloud at the start to a game as visually stunning as well as gameplay perfected as God of War 2. Didn't think it was possible to have untapped potential like that.

I do however believe that we are all more comfortable with what we know. My nostalgic experiences are the ones that I will always favor. I don't really believe a greatest console ever can really be determined or if it is it has got to be based on something other than personal opinion.. meaning each new generation brings with it the "best console ever". Though we all know that topic has faced enough discussion this generation.

[darkshiz]

A system that brought us to 3D gaming on consoles.
Not the first system to but made it mainstream.
A system that gave birth to MGS, FF7, FF8, FF9, Gran Turismo 1, Grand Turismo 2, Crash Bandicoot, Soul Reaver, other games and gave birth to PS2.

PS2 did nothing but made it better.

[Covenant]

I agree with the first commenter here...there's really been no single "greatest" console...so many different system contributed to the development of gaming as we know it. For example:

Magnavox Odyssey: The first major home console.

Atari 2600: Popularized gaming for families; unfortunately, also nearly killed the genre with E.T.

The NES: Helped gaming recover from the crash of the mid-80s; offered a significant graphical upgrade from the Atari. Great 3rd party support.

The PS1: Offered CD-based games, taking some of the first major steps into the world of 3D graphics. Made Sony a legitimate contender in the gaming field.

The PS2: Biggest seller of all-time; terrific array of games and features; brought a great system to the mass market with an exceptionally diverse gaming lineup at a good price point.

Honorable mentions:

Xbox/Xbox 360: The original Xbox introduced the dynamic Live service; its successor may have perfected it (occasional outages notwithstanding, LOL). Hardware issues with the 360 have so far limited its potential, but good first- and 3rd-party support have helped. (The PS3 has similar potential, w/o the hardware issues).

GameBoy (any iteration): Made handhelds affordable, easy to use, and established Nintendo as the standard by which others measure portable systems.

My .02 worth.

[Bubble Buddy]

Tied with SNES, N64 and PS2 for me

[darkside]

YA BABY!!!

[MK_Red]

For me, nothing comes close to Sega Genesis / MegaDrive, followed by PSone.

[I Call 9MM]

That article made a lot of good points, that's for sure. SNES, NES, Playstation, PS2 and the 360 are great choices. I would also like to make an honourable mention to the N64, since it was the first console to really bring us great 3D gaming, as well as our first taste of 4 player splitscreen multiplayer. Games like Mario 64, Zelda OoT and the infamous GoldenEye were great games that really revolutionized gaming. I will admit though, it was not without its flaws. Cartridges kept space down and prices up, which drove developers to the PSOne (1 dollar to print a CD versus ~30 dollars to build a cartridge anyone?). And though there were lots of great games on the system, the PSOne just had so many more games. I'll always say the N64 had the best games of it's time, but I have many more games for my PSOne. It just had such a larger selection of great games.

If I compared my top 5 N64 games to my top 5 PSOne games, I would honestly say I enjoyed my top 5 N64 games more. Now, my top 10 or my top 20 for each respective system, I would then have to hand it over to the Playstation.

[sloth4urluv]

Id have to agree with you.
N64 had some great games, just a smaller library

[sumfood4u]

........NES

[sumfood4u]

My personal Favorite is NES 8-bit system! That right i said it, the blow in catrdridge an clean with shirt system! I still own it upgraded the Hardware into Stainless Steel! My reason is this how many beat games on yur favorite system an can honestly say "YEAH I ENJOYED THE STORY?" Factbis most games care more about graphics less about story! Why sell $60 dollars game end in 6-8hours with a daze on most peoples faces!

[Keyser]

PSone for me. I had the Intellivision, Atari 2600, and the PS1 was what really had me hooked like dope fiend. FF& and I spent way too much time together. God bless my understanding girlfriend at the time.

[Nitrogen]

ps1 wins smoothly, ps2 and NES come in second.

[YorkshireGal]

Hiya all

I agree with what so many have already said ... the greatest consoles will depend on what you have played and what your memories of those consoles are ....

N64 holds some great memories for me, but I wouldn't say it was the best console ever

PS2 might be the best one ... the games library is huge and its been going strong for so many years ... wow, I got my money's worth from buying that console lol

I even remember the first tv games console .... the tennis/ping pong thing where you had a bat on either side of the screen and the ball went from one side to another! The really 'high tech' thing about that was that if you did well at the game and won, you could have a bigger bat! LMAO!!!!!

YG xxx

[InMyOpinion]

I've had my best days of gaming with a computer, not a console. The Amiga 500. Other than that I think all consoles had their sack of games that made them stand out. The PS2 stands out, partly cause it's had such a long existence in the spotlight. It strongly contributes to the amount of good games.

[JeepGamer]

The article makes mention of the fact that many of the great games on the SNES were actually sequels that started on the NES, which is partly Nintendo's fault because to this day they still insist that remaking their old games is better than creating new ones. I can't really call the SNES the 'best' because those were the days when Nintendo was basically an evil dictator to game developers and for that matter so was Sega. Nintendo is only just NOW recovering from how they acted during the SNES era as no small number of companies jumped ship for Sony because in the words of a developer "Sony was the first company we WANTED to work with". All of that being said, the article makes the point that the NES pulled gaming back from the brink, and they're right and the question has to be where would be today without the NES? Atari gathered the firewood, Nintendo made the fire.

[Darthdad]

And 'B17 Bomber'!
Hours of fun flying over the English channel to create havoc.
That console and game made me a fan of video games.
I've had pretty much all the other consoles, and enjoyed all of them.
It's a pretty subjective thing.

[HardcoreGamer]

but that article had me intersted and pretty much half way into its read i got bored and annoyed at how crap it was.

and it annoyed me the fact they say the one that connected gamers was 360 , pleeease, anybody knows it was the original xbox which did it very welll.

you can comment on the dreamcast as well, as taht had a okay online that worked

[xionpunk]

SNES was awesome, but none had as much impact on me as the ps2. So many great games.

[kspraydad]

it brought video games to the North American masses and made me the shut-in I am today.

[caffman]

and yes the PS2 is a classic but I'm still with the 360. But its too soon to call any of them the best console ever

[mandf]

The top selling system is the best system ever. The PS2!!! Over 2thousand games. 120+ million systems sold. Ihave owned every system ever sold. I love nintendo but let's be realistic PS2 out sold nes + super nes combined.My best memories growing up were nintendo but the ps2 took video games to another level. I'm 32 and I grew up, nintendo didn't. They kept on making kid and family games.Playstation realized video gamers were getting older and kept up with their tastes. PS2 brought it! and for that they were the best system of all time. Look at the numbers they don't lie. Super Nintendo was great in its own era.

[Mwaan]

I was completely satisfied with everything it did. It had the best launch game of all time(Soulcalibur) and it pioneered online gaming for consoles with games like Phantasy Star Online. It had my favorite rpg of all time(Skies of Arcadia) and a long list of innovative/original titles that couldn't be compared to anything else. The memory card(VMU) was even a game system within itself.

[smashballs]

Is this a test of thread war's capacity in the new site format?

all right, I'll play

Best ever is NES and crabs to all who disagree with me!

[BestGamerAlive]

Both the best

[sleepbox]

I too would say SNES. With Genesis probably in 2nd...I loved the 16 bit era.

[Amagai Shuusuke]

Its between SNES and PS2.
Heavyweights of their time.

[Horny]

My list goes something like this
Top 5:
1. PS2
2. N64
3. SNES
4. Sega Genesis(megadrive)
5. Dreamcast

Playstation 3 has a good chance to become number 1 after all the great games come out, mainly mgs4, gta4, ff13, gow3, r2, kz2, and socom

[Relientk77]

in my opinion my favorite console of all time (not neccessarily everyones favorite or greatest of all time)

is either Playstation 1 or Playstation 2 ...

and its not becuz of the grand theft autos or metal gear solids even tho those are both very good

its becuz I love RPG games and the two playstations really have the best RPG collection

- Grandia 1
- Grandia 2
- Grandia Xtreme
- Grandia 3
(i love the Grandia series it has the best RPG battle system of all time in my opinion)
- Final Fantasys 7-12
- Legend of Dragoon
- Breath of Fire 3
- Breath of Fire 4
- Rogue Galaxy
- Final Fantasy Tactics
- Tactics Ogre

and etc ... thats only the ones I just thought of off the top of my head

[Mandangoof]

PS2. The only console worth the title.

GTA, DMC, GT3, MGS2/3 (two best in the MG series), FFXII (best FF since 7), GoW, SotC, Okami, RE4 (shame gamecube), hundreds more.

PS3 will easily take down 360, and yes PS3 is getting Bioshock, Mass Effect 2/3 among many other "good" xbox "exclusives," but it needs to output at twice the rate if it wants a library like the legendary PS2.

SNES?
You're jokin', you're jokin'
I can't believe my ears,
You're jokin' me, ya gotta be
I'm drowning in my tears

[GITPWNED]

Wow. Who knew there were so many stupid fanboys on this site? Every hardcore gamer knows the Dreamcast was #1. Stupid n00bs.

[Frances-the-Mute]

i say the first PlayStation, since it brought gaming into the mainstream, and is where franchises like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear continued their legacy, and without its success we would not have the gaming beast known as PlayStation 2

:)

[Science_NERD]

Thats funny before I even read the article Super nintendo came to mind right away lol. SNES was great but I think the writer thinks that it is so great because of all the memories that come with the old-school games of Zelda, MArio, MArioKart, etc etc espeically Zelda

But the psp can play SNES games so does that make the psp greatest of all time?

[LJWooly]

The Atari 2600.

I don't care what sold the most. I don't care which one gave us the most fun. I don't care what had the biggest lifespan. Without the 2600, you wouldn't have had the consoles you have today without it. Basically, the amount of fun you're having now with gaming, you owe it to the 2600.

It also had a lifespan of 14 years and 2 months, nearly three times the typical lifespan of other consoles :)

[Tyrael]

Bob, Im gonna go with PC for 500 please...

[mjcrow33]

I'm not sayin that based on sales,just a lot of games I really enjoyed.GT3,FFX,GTA3.Shadow of the Colossus........

[TwissT]

Well since I am pretty young in the gaming department (16 year olds FTW WOOT) I would have to say either PS or PS2 I fell in love with these 2 consoles, PS for its great games FF7, FF9 list goes on, and PS2 for expanding the PS great games with well developed sequals and even new IPs, God of War and Shadow of the Colossus like the ps the list goes on, oh boy when I hit adulthood and even have kids of my own I will be looking back at these 2 consoles and seeing what my kids are doing with there "newfangled" gaming systems. Oh boy the future of gaming looks sweet.